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Museum of the USAF in Dayton


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The first stop on our July tour was a couple of days at the Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio.

 

This place is now twice as large as the last time i visited and i was surprised that i managed to get round all of the exhibits in just two days. It is by far the largest air museum in the world and every aircraft and piece of memorabilia is perfectly preserved, so deserves some close attention.

 

However, there are simply too many photos to show here, so i've picked a small selction of the more unusual types. Hope you like them

 

Andy

 

B-36-USAF-2.jpg

 

B-58-USAF-1.jpg

 

Bird-of-Prey-USAF-1.jpg

 

NC-131-Calspan-2.jpg

 

Tacit-Blue-USAF-2.jpg

 

VC-140-USAF-2.jpg

 

X-13-USAF-1.jpg

 

X-24-A-USAF-1.jpg

 

X-24-A-X-24-B-and-XB-70-USAF-1.jpg

 

X-36-NASA-1.jpg

 

XC-142-NASA-1.jpg

 

XF-85-USAF-1.jpg

 

YF-23-USAF-1.jpg

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Thanks very much for sharing these, which have brought back memories of my visit 19 years ago. I achieved so-so results with my first DSLR (Nikon D70) due to inexperience and the dull lighting in most of the halls! I remember standing in awe in front of the B-36 and B-58.

 

Maybe, I should have another look at my images with the benefit of modern software!

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Should be top of the bucket list for any aviation enthusiast - I made it two years ago and would love to go again. As you intimate, two days isn't enough - especially if you want to visit the Wright Brothers sites around the area.

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Andy, 

I too went there about 15 years ago and I loved the museum.

:heart:

Didn't own a camera then but your photographs  bring  back sweet memories  of just walking around and drooling over the aircrafts.

Your  images are AMAZING. 

Thank you for sharing.

:thumbsup:  :clap:

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You're welcome. There aren't that many new exhibits, but they are now nearly all under cover

 

Andy

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This place is on my bucket list. The YF-23 and Hustler are jets I really wish I'd seen in the wild, or at all. Must say though, the B-58 does remind me of my wheelie bins. One for paper, one for cans and bottles and one for green waste.

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Looks good. Not sure I’d be able to persuade my wife to put up with two days around an air museum though, she was bored after half an hour at Yeovilton! 😂

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39 minutes ago, Red Dot said:

And sadly the worst part of the museum was the cafe, truly awful food

 

Andy 

Well it is America!

 

The B-58 is the Bendix trophy winner; I was there in September 2022 when the USAF 75th celebrations where going on and had the privilege of talking to the pilot who had flown the a/c to win the trophy.

Also chatted to an  F-89 Scorpion pilot and a couple of Vietnam F-4 veterans.

 

Lots of highlights but the B-70 Valkyrie topped the lot. 

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The cafe as you call it is renowned for it's burgers, which somehow manage to be both dried out and soggy at the same time. And of course, there's always the surly servers to enjoy. Seriously, however, it's not really a cafe as much as a cafeteria that may have to serve thousands on busy days including groups and tours that may arrive in a lump all at once. Most cafes in museums in the UK that I've visited, and that's quite a few, are usually smaller and are set up to deal with much smaller groups, if not just individuals. Although they do know how to make a better cuppa. 🫖

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When we were there, there was no hot food and little variety of poor quality sandwiches.

 

They really need to up their game

 

Andy 

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  • 2 weeks later...

As with Oshkosh, another place to visit. The size of the Peacemaker and the Valkyrie give a great clue as to the size of the museum. 

 

A lovely set of shots and a good tip about the tripod too. Many thanks!

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You're welcome and it is possible to do both on the same trip, albeit with a lot of miles (2000+) in between.

 

Andy

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Oshkosh and Dayton are just under 500 miles apart.

To add to the cafe debate I used the snack bar between Hall 3 and 4 - quite something to be sitting eating a (soggy) sandwich and drinking a (full fat coke) overlooking a B-47 and a B-36.

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Yes indeed. 

 

When i said 2000 miles, we landed in Detroit, drove to Dayton and back, then to Oshkosh, staying in Green Bay each night. Then, finally back to Detroit for the flight home.

 

All very easy relaxed driving, just a lot of it for us poor Europeans

 

Andy

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Yes, it's odd isn't it? It actually looks like a plastic showroom model as there are no panel lines. 

 

Could it be fake news? You heard it here first!

 

Andy

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I did check and Dayton does allow their use.

 

The two museums in Washington DC don't, and are the only two that I have ever come across that don't either.

 

Andy

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Very nice photo’s. Ive been there about 10 times since 1984. I live in Chicago about 6 hrs from the museum. I have also been to most of the aviation museums. Anywhere west of Pittsburgh, north of the Ohio river and east of Iowa. So if anyone has questions or if you get to Chicago please say hello. 

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